Apparatus for drop-forging and like operations



A. L. STEVENS APPARATUS FOR DROP FORGING AND LIKE OPERATIONS Filed Oct. 8,1919 2 Shanty-Sheet 1 /Q Q 7 4 ,a/ 5d 5 V 645; 55 54 A. L. STEVENS APPARATUS FOR DROP FORGING AND LIKE OPERATIONS Filed Oct. 8 1919 2 Shoots-Shoot 2 6%?55565/ was??? Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT orries.

Application filed October 8, 1919. Serial Masses i9.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. SrEvENs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Apparatus for Drop- Forging and like Operations, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for drop forging and like operations, and in its preferred form contemplates a plurality of hammers located on the main floor of the shop, a furnace adapted to heat the billets to a forging temperature located on a supporting structure above the hammers, for example on a mezzanine floor, and means whereby the heated billets may be delivered by gravity to the hammers.

The practice heretofore has been to provide a furnace or forge for each hammer,

the furnace being located near the hammer so that the heated billets may be transferred quickly from the furnace to the hammer. There are many objections to the use of individual furnaces, only a few of which will be enumerated.

The individual furnaces burn oil, and the temperature is likely to run too high, resulting in the billets being heated too quickly and having hard centers. The hearth space of the furnaces is limited, and since the hammer men work by the piece, there is a tendency for them to crowd the furnace, 'resulting in the billets being burned and Only a few billets ruined in many cases. s s can be heated at a time, and much of the time of the hammer men is lost waiting for the billets to heat. The individual furnaces require considerable floor space, arerela tively expensive to operate, and throw out considerable heat in the vicinity of the hammers, adding greatly to the discomfort of the men attendmg the hammers. One of the objects'of my invention is to provide im-' proved apparatus whereby these disadvantages will beovercome. The billets are heated in a department separate from the forging de artment by specialists who heat each kind 0 metal according to instructions from the laboratory. They are heated slowly tojust the proper temperature because a large furnace with large hearth space may be employed. A large furnace also is relatively less expensive to operate than several small ones, and the heating is more uniform. The furnace being located on the mezzanine of hammers, and relatively large billets may be handled without employing an overhead trolley. I I l The invention consists in the novel and improved constructions, arrangements and devices to be hereinafter described and claimed forcarrying out the above stated objects, and such other incidental objects as will appear from the following description of certain preferred embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: A I

Fig. 1 is an end elevationalview ofa preferred form of apparatus embodying the principles of my invention; I Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus."

Like characters of reference designate like part-sin the several views. 1 The furnace 25' which is preferably of regenerative type, is mounted on a support ing structure, for example, a raised platform or mezzanine floor, and is adapted to heat the billets to be forged by the ham 'mers located on the main floor. uThe billets are fed into the furnace from each end by,

means of suitable pushing devices to be hereinafter described, and are removed from thefurnace througha small opening 26 in the side thereof, the furnace preferably having sufiicientcapacity to supply heatedbiL lets tofour hammers inwhich casethe billets pass down a chute 27 by gravityto the hammers 2'8 and 28, and down the chute 29 to the hammers 28 and 28 mers maybe of any prefered type, each one being connected by a pipe 30 to the air or steam supplymainj 31, and by a pipe 32 to.

theexhaust main 33, the pipes 31 and 33' respectively leading to and from suitable compressing apparatus, not shown, I

The furnace shown in the drawings is of the regenerative type and embodies certain principles of operation described and claimed in my United States. Patent No.

1,292,126, issuedfJan-uary E21, 1919. j The f frame of any approved type supported by carrying wheels38 adapted to run on rails the i The hamurnace is supported on an under-' 39. Gas for supplying the heat is fed to the furnace by means of a header 65, but other forms of fuel may be used if desired. Valves 83 and 83 are provided for ads justably closing openings leading from the interior of the furnace to the atmosphere, such-valves being operated by means of a shaft 87 provided with crank arms 86 which are connected by links 85 and slide bars 84: with the said valves. An air supply pipe 93 is connected through the medium of a pipe '92 with headers 90' and 90 which in turn are connected with the regenerators of the furnace by pipes 89 and 89 valves 91 and 9d being provided for controlling the entrance of the air. I

The billets are fed into the end of the furnace illustrated by means of any suitable type operated by means of cylinders 109 to Which steam or other fluid under pressure is fed by means of a pipe 117 in the well understood manner. The billets are fed into the furnace from both ends through suitable openings, and are withdrawn through By the use of my improved arrangement of parts, with the forging machine'located H at a distance from the furnace or otherwise protected from the heat of the furnace, the workmen at the hammers are enabled to work to much better advantage at the materially lower temperatures rendered possible. With the furnace or furnaces located at a higher level than that of the hammers,"the floor space is used to much greater advantage and the billets'are delivered to the hammers much more readily by the gravity system than by the systems heretofore in vogue.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications may be made in the apparatus without departing from the principles of the invention. I do not intend, therefore, to limit the invention to thecon struetions, arrangements and devices shown and described except only in so far as certain of the appended claims are specifically so limited. I

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described, comprising a forging machine, located "on the main floor, a furnace located on the mezzanine floor adapted to heat the billets for said machine and provided with means actuated independently of the operation ofthe said machine for controlling the movement and the heating of the billets in thefurnace, and means whereby the heated billets may pass by-gravity to said machine for immediate forging.

2. In apparatus of the class described, comprising a plurality of forging machines located on the main floor and adapted to severally operate on billets of various size and character, a furnace located on the mezzanine floor and adapted to heat the billets for said machines and provided with means actuated independently of the operations of the said machines for controlling the movements and the heating ofthe billets in the furnace, and a plurality of chutes leading from the discharge opening of the furnace to points convenient to said forging machines, wherebythe heated billets may pass by gravity to said machines for immediate forging.

3. In apparatus of the class described comprising a plurality of hammers'located on the main floor, a furnace located on a mezzanine floor and adapted to heat the billets means for feeding the billets into the furnace from both ends, said furnace having an opening in one side through which the heated billets may be removed, and means whereby the heated billets may pass by gravity to said hammers.

4. In apparatus of the class described comprising a. plurality of hammers located on the main floor, a furnace located on a mezzanine floor and adapted to heat the billets, said furnace having ahorizontal passageway in each end leading to the heating chamber thereof, means for pushing the billets sidewise through said openings into said furnace, said furnace having a central opening in one side through which the heated billets may be withdrawn endwise, and means whereby theheated billets may pass by gravity to said hammers.

' 5. In .apparatus .of the character described, comprising a'machine for shaping heated billets, and a furnace for heatlng billets therefor, one belng elevated above the other to provide a space for workmen be neath the former, and means for conveying the heated billets to the shaping machine.

6. In apparatus of the character described, comprising a plurality of machines for shaping heated billets, a furnace for heating billets therefor elevated above said machines to provide a space for workmen beneath said furnace, and means for conveying the heated billets to the several shaping machines. Y

7. In apparatus of the character described, comprisinga plurality of hammers,

a furnace for heating billets therefor lo-' ARTHUR 'L. STEVENS. 

